Pretty Little Liars Recap: 'A' Is For A-l-i-v-e.

The girls stand at the parked police car looking in at a dead pig in the trunk. They wonder where Mona went and if she set them up, but Hanna spots Mona in the car removing the video feed to save Hanna's mom. They leave the scene and head to Spencer's house. They bicker with Mona who tells Emily she made her stronger. Spencer says Mona likes games so they'll play 'third degree'. She asks about the car. She says she didn't pull it from the lake, that Jenna knew Shana before coming to town, she didn't push Ian from the bell tower, and much more. When they awaken later, Mona's gone. Aria wonders if she drugged them. Mona reappears with coffee. Hanna asks for the chip. Mona needs to keep it to find out who red coat is; they're in this together, like it or not.

They drive down Hanna's street and see the police cars and pandemonium surrounding the muddy cop car. Wilden lies dead on the ground. They realize what 'A''s last text meant - 'A' has a way to make it look like they killed him.

Toby watches the firemen pick through the burnt out lakehouse and find a red coat.

At Mona's lair, the girls puzzle over being Ali's mice or dolls. They question Mona about being on the Halloween train. She shows them a video proving that Wilden and someone else put Aria in the box, not her. Mona tells Spencer the second masked person was Melissa. Someone starts deleting Mona's files.

In the trailer park, they see little girls playing with the dolls in their likeness. The children say they got them from Alison, who started playing with them right after Mona moved in.

Emily is with Hanna at home. They discuss Mona, who has just called. Emily points out that their fingerprints are on the car, not hers. Emily says they should keep their friends close and enemies closer. Emily's mom appears and tells them Mrs. D is moving back and seems to be in a pretty good place. Hanna says to Emily, "Maybe she knows what we know." Emily says Alison's dead. Hanna saw her pull them out of the lakehouse.

Spencer and Toby are back at the lakehouse looking for the red coat. She goes inside despite Toby's protests. He follows. Spencer wonders if it was Alison who was there. They realize they're not in there alone and run out, but see no one.

Emily stops by to see Mrs. D and asks if Jason is back too. She says he's doing renovations elsewhere. Emily agrees to help carry in boxes with Alison's things in them.

Later, Emily calls Hanna from home to tell her that Mrs. D is building a shrine to Alison. Hanna says they've arrived at the RV in the woods.

Hanna and Mona lock up the RV. Hanna asks if it will be safe. "There's stuff in there that can bring us down." Mona hasn't thought of them as 'us' for a long time.

Aria runs into Ezra in the cafe. She admits seeing him is awkward and suggests they have coffee. He says he can't; he got offered a permanent job at Rosewood and has a family now. She lets him know she's not ready to see other people, but says, "Goodbye Mr. Fitz."

At Spencer's house, she and Toby puzzle over how to provide an alibi for the time of the fire. He refers to himself as her boyfriend. She loves that and says it's perfect, him being there. He gets a photo text from 'A'. The picture is of his mother and says, "Bet you miss her every day." He doesn't tell Spencer. Later, Spencer looks out her bedroom window and sees Mrs. D across the way looking at her from her house.

Emily is at school with Aria. They're watching Ezra and how good he is with the students. The vice-principal catches Aria staring at Ezra and listens to their conversation. At the lockers, Hanna complains to Mona that she's having nightmares about Wilden and dead pigs. They talk about when they were friends and agree to meet up later. Aria is called on the loudspeaker to the vice-principal's office. She imagines him confronting her about lying, having photos of her and Ezra, and Ezra being arrested, but the man merely gives her an envelope for her mother. Aria texts Ezra that she wants to see other people.

Emily is at home with Paige later. Paige has been offered a full ride at Stanford and wants Emily to come to California with her. Emily wants to go. They kiss. Jenna watches as Paige leaves and tells Emily she needs a favor. She says if anything happens to her, to give Toby a message - she never meant to hurt him. Emily asks why something would happen to her. Jenna points out that everyone who saw Alison the night she died is dying. Emily realizes Wilden saw her that night too.

Mona is with Hanna at her place. Mona asks about Caleb's search for his dad. Hanna hasn't heard from him. She asks about Mona's love life. She says there's been no one since Noel. Mona tells Hanna she know she's pretending to be her friend again and hands over the chip. She tells her she really was her friend.

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The town has gathered for Wilden's funeral. The girls arrive together. They wonder what's in the coffin that's incriminating to them, and notice a woman walking in with a black lace widow's veil. They head inside and split up to search for the casket. Ezra is talking to the vice-principal and ignores Aria. Spencer spots a casket in a back room. As she approaches it a phone rings. Mona is there, saying they got the same 'A' message. They open the casket and take out the ringing phone. They call back 'kisses'. Hanna answers and asks why they're calling from her mom's phone. Once they're all back together. Hanna worries about her mom being 'A's target. Hanna says she hasn't heard from her since this morning. Mrs. D appears and tells Hanna that Alison would be proud of her for keeping the weight off. The girls sit and look over at the woman in the veil, who is near Jenna and a blond guy. Once outside, the girls watch the woman in the veil leave in a black car. An investigator approaches them to say he's looking into the deaths of Wilden and Garrett; they'll probably be brought in for questioning. They all get a text from 'A', along with a video showing them taking the chip from the muddy police car that night.

At the RV, Toby flashes back to being with Ali when they were younger. They nearly kiss in his room, but his mother comes in at 4:00 PM - she's just gotten up. He tells Ali he thinks there's something wrong with his mom, but Ali calls her lazy. He kicks Ali out. Toby walks sadly down the road from the RV.

'A' is in the lair and looks in the mirror. 'A' lifts the black veil and has a mask underneath; it's burned black on one side.

Spoilers for Next Week on Pretty Little Liars:

'A' nearly kills Mona.

Aria takes self-defense lessons.

Alison's mom gives Hanna a parrot.

Toby reveals a secret to Spencer.

Hanna learns something surprising about her mother.

Candi's Comments:
Awesome start to the new season! I'm assuming that was red coat in the black veil at the funeral. Love Toby and Spencer back together, though it seems there's a sad story about his mom. Alison's mom is giving off whack job vibes! Can't wait until next week.